1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to self-clinching fasteners that provide for a secure mounting location for common cable ties.
2. Description of Prior Art
Manufacturers of industrial machines quite often make use of wire harnesses to distribute electrical power to various locations within a machine. It is common to run bundles of wire along a sheet metal panel in order to distribute the bundles of wires. These bundles are often anchored to a sheet panel in discreet locations to prevent the wires from coming in contact with harmful elements.
A common approach to anchoring these wire bundles to a panel makes use of a plastic molded cable mount with an adhesive backing. Examples of an adhesive backed cable tie mount is disclosed by Robert Nicoli in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,856. The Nicoli adhesive mount is simply applied to a sheet panel via the adhesive backing on the cable tie mount itself. This provides for an anchor point for a cable tie.
Another tie mount was disclosed by Hiroshi Osada in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,245. Osada teaches about a tie mount that snaps into a sheet panel
The disadvantage of the Nicoli adhesive mount is its tendency to dislodge itself over time from the sheet panel. The adhesive backing quite often fails when too much load is placed on the adhesive mount. Also, the final placement of the adhesive backed mount on a panel is quite often inconsistent due to the installation process of simply laying the adhesive mount on a sheet panel.
The disadvantage of the Osada snap-action mount is it can only handle a limited amount of loading. Also, the Osada mount does not display a flush surface on the far side of the sheet panel.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are:
(a) to improve the load bearing capability of a cable tie mount without the use of a screw;
(b) to reduce the assembly time for installing a cable tie mount for a high load application;
(c) to improve the positional accuracy of locating a cable tie mount; and
(d) to provide a self-clinching fastener used as a cable tie mount that has a low profile and a flush appearance on the far side of the sheet panel.